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NEI Introduces Optically Transparent Hardcoat with UV Protection

June 30, 2021

Somerset, New Jersey (USA) – NEI Corporation announced today that it has introduced NANOMYTE® UVP-100, an optically transparent coating that provides simultaneous protection from ultraviolet radiation, as well as from scratching and abrasion. A key attribute of the single layer UVP-100 coating is that it is relatively thin, only about 5 – 10 microns thick. The new coating can be used on a wide variety of polymer materials, particularly those that are susceptible to damage by ultraviolet light from the sun. NANOMYTE® UVP-100 complements NEI’s portfolio of functional coatings, which include easy-to-clean, hydrophobic, anti-fog, anti-ice, and abrasion resistant coatings.

UVP-100’s coating composition has a unique chemistry that’s comprised of highly efficient UV-absorbing materials that are incorporated into a hard coat matrix. The figure below shows the UV-Vis spectrum of UVP-100 on glass, as compared to that of an uncoated glass control. 90% of the UV radiation with wavelength <375 nm is essentially blocked with a film approximately 6 µm thick. The coating remains fully transparent and is highly stable to UV radiation. The coating showed no damage (e.g., cracking and delamination) even after 250 hours of continuous exposure to intense UV radiation (0.9 W/m2) at 60°C in QUV accelerated weathering testing.

UV-Vis Spectrum of UVP-100

UV-Vis spectrum of UVP-100 vs. uncoated glass (control)

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Uncoated polycarbonate plaque (left) vs. NANOMYTE® UVP-100 coated polycarbonate plaque (right) – after exposure to ultraviolet light for the same time period

The development of NANOMYTE® UVP-100 coating is based on NEI’s patented NANOMYTE® SR-100 scratch resistant coating technology, which is being used in a number of commercial applications. Using standard abrasion tests, such as ASTM D-1044 (500-gram load, CS-10F wheel, 1000 cycles), uncoated polycarbonate will generate a measured delta haze of 30 – 35%. Commercially available hard coatings on polycarbonate lead to a delta haze of 2% to 6%. By comparison, NANOMYTE® SR-100 typically generates < 1% delta haze (ASTM D1044), and UVP-100 exhibits a delta haze value under 2%. Additionally, NEI’s UVP-100 coating has excellent chemical resistance, passing the 2-hour test for 0.1N HCl, 0.1N NaOH and xylene (i.e., no damage can be seen after 2 hours exposure to the above chemicals). The coating also has good solvent resistance – displaying no damage after 200 double rubs of MEK on the coating surface.

Application of UVP-100 is easy, using standard coating processes (such as immersion, flow, or spray coating) that require no specialized equipment. NEI also supplies a primer product – NANOMYTE® SR-Primer – which works well with a range of plastics to promote adhesion.

Additional Information: NANOMYTE® UVP-100 Technical Data Sheet | Safety Data Sheet (Part A) ♦ (Part B) | Request a Quote

Download Press Release (pdf) ↓


About NEI: NEI Corporation is an applications-driven company that utilizes materials science & chemistry to develop and produce Advanced Materials for a broad range of markets. NEI’s line of Protective Coatings provide tailored functionalities, such as hydrophobicity, self-healing, fog resistance, self-cleaning (or easy-to-clean), scratch resistance, anticorrosion, and icephobicity.

NEI is most receptive to new applications brought to it by its customers. A typical interaction begins by applying the coating on the customer’s parts and submitting it to the customer for evaluation. Either parts are coated at NEI’s applications laboratory, or the customer procures a sample quantity of liquid coating for in-house application. The implementation process then moves through pilot scale tests and eventual qualification. NEI’s engineers support the development and qualification efforts of its customers every step of the way, including drawing up technical specifications and engaging with third party coating applicators, if necessary.

For more information, give us a call or email us.

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New Anti-ice System Advances to Next Technology Level

Full-scale Prototype Demonstration of a New Hybrid Technology to Prevent Icing on Aircraft and Drones

January 15, 2020

Somerset, NJ (USA) – Invercon Inc. and NEI Corporation announced today that their newly developed de-icing system was tested successfully at the NASA Glenn Research Center’s Icing Research Tunnel. The test was witnessed by engineers and scientists at the Research Center, as well as from the industry. The Invercon-NEI team met the objective of demonstrating a low power anti-ice system in conjunction with NEI’s NANOMYTE® SuperAi anti-ice coating that prevents ice accretion on the leading edge of an airfoil. The test was performed on a full-size airfoil under simulated in-flight conditions, following nearly two years of development and laboratory testing.

All commercial aircraft have a built-in ice protection system, which could be either a thermal, thermo-mechanical, electro-mechanical, or pneumatic system. A common issue with de-icing devices is that they consume substantial power. Aircraft generally look to reduce power consumption, and with the advent of battery-powered aircraft, mechanisms or features that reduce power consumption are critically important. Icing presents a particular challenge for commercial and military drones, where ice can build up on the wings and propellers and result in crashes. In fact, the current practice is not to fly drones when icing conditions are predicted. Applying a passive anti-ice coating that functions synergistically with an active de-icing device is an attractive hybrid approach, which the team of NEI and Invercon has now demonstrated on full-scale prototypes.

NEI’s NANOMYTE® SuperAi anti-ice coating is a durable coating, suitable for permanent application. The coating leads to a lubricating surface that drastically reduces the adhesion strength of ice – by as much as 80%, compared to bare polished aluminum. The coating is usually applied by spraying, similar to conventional painting. NANOMYTE® SuperAi coating is available for commercial use.

Figure 1: MQ-1 wing test section installed in the IRT tunnel.

Invercon has developed a new, retrofittable, electro-pneumatic deicing system that combines the most attractive aspects of several existing systems without their associated drawbacks. The Invercon system requires remarkably low power (≤ 2.5 kW), is retrofittable on any airfoil, adds very little weight (~50 lbs), and is durable enough to last the life of the aircraft once retrofitted. Importantly, the system looks, feels, and acts like the original leading edge and can provide millions of maintenance-free deicing cycles. The entire wing test section (Figure 1) was coated with NANOMYTE® SuperAi.

Invercon successfully completed icing tests of the electro-pneumatic deicing system at NASA Glenn’s Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) under a full range of representative icing conditions. The Invercon system was able to provide continuous deicing of the wing section leading edge over all of the test conditions ranging from temperatures of -3°C to -20°C with various liquid water content. Typically, the system allows ice to accrete for about 2 minutes and then completely sheds upper and lower surface ice upon system activation.

The testing at NASA’s IRT, which is the longest running icing facility in the world, has moved the hybrid technology to a readiness level of 6 (i.e., TRL6), which is a scale used by NASA and Department of Defense to gauge the maturity level of a technology.

Both NEI Corporation and INVERCON LLC are grateful for the financial support extended by the Small Business Innovation Research Program from the Air Force and NASA. The SBIR program funds product development efforts that reduce concepts to practice and then to prototypes, thereby reducing technology risk. The successful full-scale demonstration by the team has advanced a new technology to a state of commercial readiness.

View / Download Press Release (pdf) ⇓


About NEI Corporation:

NEI Corporation is an application-driven company that utilizes nanotechnology to develop and produce advanced materials. The company’s core competencies are in synthesizing nanoscale materials and prototyping products that incorporate the advanced materials. NEI offers an array of Advanced Protective Coatings for metal and polymer surfaces. The coatings have tailored functionalities, such as anti-corrosion, self-healing, scratch resistance, ice-phobic, and self-cleaning.

For more information, give us a call or email us.

About Invercon LLC:

Invercon’s mission is to develop advanced technologies that enable revolutionary leaps forward in aircraft performance and safety.  For rotorcraft, these include centrifugally powered, pneumatic actuation systems that can actively trim rotors and de-ice rotor blades using almost no power or weight, resulting in significantly improved performance and safety.  For fixed wing aircraft, Invercon has developed extremely low power deicing solutions using a novel electro-pneumatic actuation approach.

For more information, give us a call or email us.

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NEI’s UV-Protect Technology featured in Coatings World Magazine

September 2018

NEI has introduced UV-Protect (UVP) technology to formulate enhanced versions of its popular NANOMYTE® coating products, which offer unique functionalities in coatings with unparalleled durability. The NANOMYTE® line of protective coatings and surface treatments provide tailored functionalities, such as hydrophobicity, superhydrophobicity, oleophobicity, superoleophobicity, self-healing, fog resistance, self-cleaning (or easy-to-clean), scratch resistance, anti-corrosion, and anti-icing. They have found wide applicability in the industrial and automotive markets for their versatility and ability to be applied to a variety of surfaces – including glass, plastic, fiber-composite, metal, and ceramic. UVP technology imparts enhanced protection from the effects of sun and weather exposure to maintain the unique properties of their coating products when subjected to long-term outdoor exposure.

The newly-introduced product lineup consists of:

Read the Complete Article:

https://www.coatingsworld.com/issues/2018-09-01/view_breaking-news/nei-introduces-uv-protect-coating-technology

About NEI Corporation:

NEI Corporation is an application-driven company that utilizes nanotechnology to develop and produce advanced materials. The company’s core competencies are in synthesizing nanoscale materials and prototyping products that incorporate advanced materials. NEI offers an array of Advanced Protective Coatings for metal and polymer surfaces, with tailored functionalities such as anti-corrosion, self-healing, scratch resistance, ice-phobic, and self-cleaning.

For more information, give us a call or email us.

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NEI Corporation introduces UV-Protect Technology to NANOMYTE® Coating Line

March 7, 2018

Somerset, New Jersey (USA) – NEI Corporation announced today that it has introduced UV-Protect (UVP) technology to formulate enhanced versions of its popular NANOMYTE® coating products, which offer unique functionalities in coatings with unparalleled durability. The NANOMYTE® line of protective coatings and surface treatments provide tailored functionalities, such as hydrophobicity, superhydrophobicity, oleophobicity, superoleophobicity, self-healing, fog resistance, self-cleaning (or easy-to-clean), scratch resistance, anti-corrosion, and anti-icing. They have found wide applicability in the industrial and automotive markets for their versatility and ability to be applied to a variety of surfaces – including glass, plastic, fiber-composite, metal, and ceramic. UVP technology imparts enhanced protection from the effects of sun and weather exposure to maintain the unique properties of their coating products when subjected to long-term outdoor exposure.

The newly-introduced product lineup consists of:

UVP Technology Brief (pdf)

NANOMYTE® coating products with UVP technology have demonstrated their ability to endure a minimum of 1,000 hours of weatherability testing per ASTM D4587, “Accelerated Weathering under Fluorescent UV-Condensation Exposure.” The testing was performed in a QUV chamber under the conditions specified in ASTM G154, Cycle 1, the most commonly used exposure cycle designed to simulate severe outdoor service conditions. The UVP functionality has been incorporated into each coating system without degrading other performance characteristics or ease of application. The cured film is both inherently resistant to the sun’s UV radiation, as well as capable of providing UV protection for the underlying surface. This, for example, allows the NANOMYTE® MEND product line to maintain excellent gloss and appearance in outdoor applications, such as automotive coatings. Polymer and composite materials can be particularly sensitive to the effects of UV exposure, which can have a variety of undesirable effects, beginning at the surface and often spreading throughout the bulk of the material. Surface attack immediately begins to compromise coating adhesion, eventually resulting in cracking and peeling. UV-degraded materials may also change colors, often resulting in the familiar yellowing of plastics and lose mechanical strength, making them prone to failure. UVP coatings block UV radiation, which protects surfaces by preserving coating adhesion and aesthetics, and prevents further penetration of UV light which can compromise the material’s strength and appearance.

Outdoor exposure can present additional challenges for surfaces to resist buildup of dirt, airborne contaminants, corrosion, and even ice. NEI’s line of durable protective topcoats, formulated as one-component, ambient-cure systems for ease of use, now offer UVP technology to extend their performance and shield sensitive surfaces. NANOMYTE® SR-500EC-UVP can protect a wide variety of surfaces from the effects of outdoor exposure, coupled with an easy-to-clean functionality with enhanced weatherability. For surfaces prone to icing, NANOMYTE® SuperAi-UVP not only helps keep surfaces clean, but also enhances their ability to shed ice buildup, all while providing excellent protection from the elements. Both of these coatings can maintain excellent hydrophobicity, with a static water contact angle of 100 – 105°, even after 2,000 hours of QUV exposure, while NANOMYTE® SuperAi-UVP maintains a low ice adhesion value of less than 1 psi after more than 1,000 hours of exposure. NANOMYTE® TC-4001-UVP and TC-5001-UVP have been optimized for metals to form a hard, durable coating with excellent barrier properties to prevent moisture penetration and corrosion.

NEI’s coating products featuring UVP technology can be applied by conventional processes, such as dipping, brushing or spraying. NEI also offers in-house coating services for customer’s parts, as well as coating development services, wherein coating formulations are created to address specific customer requirements. The development of NANOMYTE® UVP functional coatings has come about as a result of NEI’s capabilities in creating functionalized nanocomposite coatings. In addition to imparting protective and aesthetic properties, NANOMYTE® coatings lead to gains in productivity and efficiency and therefore can be used in many applications that traditionally have not used paints or coatings.

Additional Information:

Download Press Release (pdf) ⇓


About NEI Corporation:

NEI Corporation is an application-driven company that utilizes nanotechnology to develop and produce advanced materials. The company’s core competencies are in synthesizing nanoscale materials and prototyping products that incorporate advanced materials. NEI offers an array of Advanced Protective Coatings for metal and polymer surfaces, with tailored functionalities such as anti-corrosion, self-healing, scratch resistance, ice-phobic, and self-cleaning.

For more information, give us a call or email us.

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NEI Expands Self-Healing Line of Coatings and Broadens Patent Portfolio

November 3, 2015

Somerset, New Jersey (USA) – NEI Corporation announced today that it has expanded its NANOMYTE® MEND line of top coats where a physical self-healing phenomenon leads to gap closing and crack sealing. The innovative technology platform is applicable to a broad range of substrates such as metal, wood, and polymers – including those that require maintaining a clear glossy appearance. NANOMYTE® MEND coatings can be healed multiple times at the same defect location, thereby reducing life cycle costs by increasing the service life and reducing maintenance costs of the various substrates to which it is applied.

Healing_MEND2

In response to the need for self-healing required in different environments, four MEND products have been introduced. MEND 1000 is based on US Patent 8,987,352, where a thermally induced physical self-healing phenomenon leads to gap closing and crack sealing. The self-healing coating involves a unique phase-separated morphology that facilitates the delivery of the self-healing agent to the damage site (such as a scratch or crack) thereby restoring the coating appearance & function. The coating can be self-healed by the application of warm air for several seconds with a simple device, such as a household hair dryer. Additionally, the properties of the coating – such as hardness, gloss, and refractive index – can be altered as needed for the specific application. The more recently developed, patent-pending MEND 2000 allows self-healing at near ambient temperature. MEND 3000 is a solvent-borne self-healing coating that can be cured at room temperature. MEND 4000, on the other hand, is a waterborne polyurethane-based, self-healing coating (US Patent 8,664,298). The current series of MEND coatings are based on polyurethane, but the principle is applicable to other coating systems as well – including acrylics and epoxies, as well as UV-curable systems.

MEND_Selection_Guide

Self-healing principles can also be applied to surface treatments of metals. To this end, NEI has developed a series of pretreatments for different metals, where a chemical self-healing mechanism imparts corrosion resistance. The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a notice of allowance for NEI’s patent on another self-healing coating technology. The allowed claims describe a chemical conversion coating for protecting magnesium alloys from corrosion (NANOMYTE® PT-60). PT-60 mimics the performance of chromate conversion coatings. The nanoscale structure of the magnesium surface allows ions to diffuse on demand to the damage site, forming a barrier that prevents further corrosion. Additionally, PT-60 has been engineered to act as a tie layer that bonds the overlying primer with the metal. Excellent field performance has been observed in select applications.

The NANOMYTE® MENDTM family of coatings complement NEI’s portfolio of Advanced Protective Coatings and Surface Treatments which provide tailored functionalities, such as hydrophobicity, superhydrophobicity, oleophobicity, superoleophobicity, self-healing, fog resistance, self-cleaning (or easy-to-clean), scratch resistance, anti-corrosion, and anti-icing. In addition to imparting protective and aesthetic properties, NANOMYTE® coatings lead to gains in productivity and efficiency and therefore can be used in many applications that traditionally have not used paints or coatings. The coatings are versatile and can be applied on a variety of different substrates – including glass, plastic, fiber-composite, metal, and ceramic.

Download Press Release (pdf) »

 


About NEI Corporation:

NEI Corporation is an applications driven company that utilizes nanotechnology to develop and produce advanced materials. The company’s core competencies are in synthesizing nanoscale materials and prototyping products that incorporate the advanced materials. Founded in 1997, the company manufactures and sells advanced materials products, provides materials development services, and performs contract-based R&D for public and private entities. NEI has built a strong manufacturing and R&D infrastructure that enables rapid transition of concepts to products. The company’s products are backed by a suite of issued and pending patents and sold under the registered trademark NANOMYTE®.

For additional information on our MEND coatings, including product specs & a summary presentation, contact us.